It appears Virginians got about as good a deal as they could have hoped for in the breaking of the budget stalemate Tuesday.

As much as I hate to give any credit to our do-nothing House of Delegates, their single-minded opposition to any kind of tax increase turned out to be the right course of action for a change.

Not because their intransigence did anything to solve our transportation problems (Be honest now, who expected they would?) it did keep Virginians, at least temporarily, from having insult added to $3 a gallon gas injury. It also likely set up a separate session to deal with just transportation, something our own Del. Chris Jones wisely advocated early on in the budget stalemate.

Still, I wouldn’t hold out much hope of any help for our transportation dilemma. The House seems intent on letting its real estate and building industry masters overrun Suffolk and Hampton Roads with development and deny us the tools necessary to deal with.

Our only hope is that what appears to be an anti-incumbent mood sweeping the nation will reach into the state house …

… Chickens coming home to roost: Dennis Hastert and Nancy Pelosi standing together to denounce a FBI raid on the Capitol Hill office of Democratic Rep. William Jefferson.

Jefferson is the slimy Louisiana Congressman (I realize “Slimy Congressman” is redundant) allegedly filmed by FBI agents accepting $100,000 in bribes.

Hastert and Pelosi claim the action violated the separation of powers and demanded “The Justice Department must immediately return the papers it unconstitutionally seized.”

Since when did the U.S. Congress start worrying about our Constitution? They’ve sat back for years and done nothing except facilitate and contribute to the erosion of citizens’ rights and I, for one, see their situation as nothing but poetic justice. Even if they are right in their claims, they deserve to lose.